Other
Media Literacy Clearinghouse: Critically Viewing Photographs: Civil War
Was it possible to manipulate photographs during the Civil War? Teach your young scholars about critical viewing through this innovative lesson and engage them in discussion, analysis and research to explain their findings.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Collaborative Booktalk: Sharing and Writing Development
Are dark themes in young adult novels harmful or helpful to teens? Students will explore this question and will create an argumentative writing piece based on textual evidence. Videos of the lesson in action, examples of student work,...
iCivics
I Civics: News Literacy
Use this library of mini-lessons to teach students to recognize high-standards journalism so they can make informed judgments about the information coming at them and to help them identify and deal with misinformation, bias, opinion, and...
Other
Fu Jen University: Different Kinds of Outlines
This site from the Fu Jen University contains information on different types of outlines and gives examples of each. It also gives other information on writing outlines.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: News and Media Literacy
This collection, which includes videos, blog articles, student handouts, lesson plans, and tip sheets for families, helps students identify, analyze, and investigate the news and information they get from online sources. Media literacy...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: News and Media Literacy Collection
This collection, which includes videos, blog articles, student handouts, lesson plans, and tip sheets for families, helps students identify, analyze, and investigate the news and information they get from online sources. Media literacy...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Write Expository Text That Synthesizes Ideas
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] A learning module that teaches students how to bring ideas together in an expository text in four lessons: Introduction, Analyzing Our Sources, Pulling Out the Major Points...
BBC
Bbc Bitesize Revision: Discursive (Analytical) Writing
Short tutorial about discursive, or analytical, writing from a Scottish Standard Grade examination preparation site. Contains seven pages of information about the following: organising, essay examples, finding information, planning,...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Analytical Writing in the Content Areas
Because writing is thinking, the organization of students' writing reflects both the structure of their thinking and the depth of their understanding. Students should be writing in all their classes, explaining what they know and how...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Teaching Content Knowledge and Reading Strategies in Tandem
Many areas of instruction can have a rippling effect for the expansion of readers' repertoire of skills, including pre-reading, predicting, testing hypotheses against the text, asking questions, summarizing, etc. Literacy-rich,...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: An Introduction to Analytical Text Structures
Many students are used to writing narratives - stories, description, even poetry, but have little experience with analytical writing. This article is an introduction to six analytical text structures, useful across content areas. See...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Scientific Important Book Passages
Students read and examine the structure of The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and then follow that pattern while writing about the most important things about various scientific topics. Printable handouts and student samples are...
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Focusing a Research Topic
This clear and easy to understand explanation of how to focus your topic for effective research will be helpful to many. There are plenty of examples, and two alternate methods are offered as well.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Research Topic Ideas
A comprehensive and in-depth list of possible topics and ideas for research papers from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Ideas and Supporting Details
See how to pick out the main ideas and supporting details on this site. Click on Model at the bottom right.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Classify and Summarize Information [Pdf]
This learning module contains a link to graphic organizers that will help students categorize content and comprehend short and extended texts. The graphic organizers are designed to be applied to reading nonfiction passages in science...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Compare and Contrast [Pdf]
This resource is a poster that includes cues that will help students compare and contrast information. These questions can be applied to fiction and nonfiction passages.
Other
Increased Comprehension With the Use of Imagery
Designed for adult learners, this literacy lesson could easily be used in the high school or middle school classroom. Some handouts are included, but some material must be found in a newspaper or magazine.
Other
Kid Bibs: Effective Use of Textbook Features
Here, parents and teachers can find tips for helping young readers understand the expository writing found in textbooks.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Essay Map
A fillable essay map in PDF format with boxes for an introduction, main ideas, supporting details, and a conclusion. Directions on how to use this type of graphic organizer as well as lists of teaching ideas and related resources are...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: K W L S Chart
A printable K-W-L-S sheet to help students activate prior knowledge, ask questions, record new learning, and then ask additional questions to extend inquiry beyond the text . Directions on how to use this type of graphic organize as well...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Persuasion Rubric
A printable four-point rubric to use when assessing a persuasive piece with a focus on organization, a goal or thesis, reasons/support, audience, word choice, visuals/delivery, and grammar/usage/mechanics. Directions on how to use this...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Power Notes
A printable note-taking format where students create an outline by assigning powers to the main idea and supporting details. Directions on how to use this type of rubric as well as lists of teaching ideas and related resources are also...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Get the Gist: A Summarizing Strategy for Any Content Area
A five-part standards-based lesson in which students learn to write a 20 word summary of an informational text by focusing on answering the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how. This strategy can be applied to any content area,...